Alt-Rockers Pay Tribute To Johnny Cash

As the music world mourns the death of Johnny Cash-who passed away on the morning of Friday (September 12), at the age of 71-artists from every genre of music are paying their respects to the legendary Man In Black.

Guitarist Danny Lohner, who has played with Nine Inch Nails and A Perfect Circle, shared his thoughts with LAUNCH on Cash’s recent cover of the Nine Inch Nails tune “Hurt.”

“Johnny Cash’s version blew me away,” Lohner said. “He has such a great character voice…that video is so moving and so well done, and with his wife watching him as he sings it…I don’t know if I’m just being silly or what but it just really touched me, and I know Trent (Reznor) felt the same way.”

Former Limp Bizkit guitarist Wes Borland-who is playing in a new band with Danny Lohner called the Damning Well-revealed that he thought Cash had a unique perspective on his own impending death.

“Johnny Cash has always been incredible over the years and has always written songs that painted pictures,” Borland said. “And…to lose somebody like that, I mean, everybody’s got to go at some point, but…people’s lives always get reflected on after they die, but he’s someone that-I think it’s interesting that we got to see him reflecting on his life before he passed.”

Sevendust lead guitarist Clint Lowery revealed that while he was especially sad about Cash’s passing-he had grown up with Johnny Cash records playing in his house-the whole band mourned the singer.

“We’re all from the South, so Johnny Cash affected us, you know,” Lowery said. “I mean, he was just the Man In Black, you know. The age made him better, and the pain, and all that stuff that he had kind of inflicted upon himself was, kind of came through in the music. So, yeah, he affected us and I’m pretty damn sad about it today, actually.”